NAZIK HUSSAIN M.A ELT LMS :MC190203674 COURSE.

ENG507
Q1a. A phoneme is the smallest meaningful unit of sound (therefore, a smallest
unit in phonology) in a language. Phoneme is also described as a group of sounds
having the ability to change meaning. Write down the phonemic transcription of the
following words in RP; also identify and write the number of phonemes each word
carries.
Answer:

Sr. Words Phonemic Transcription in Number of Phonemes

RP

1 Six Four
/sɪks/

1.

2 Scissosrs Six
/ˈsɪzərz/

3 Lamb /læm/ Three

 Q1b. Bear and bare are spelt differently but pronounced the same, ‘beǝ’ in
Received Pronunciation (RP). Make a list of four other pairs of words which are
spelt differently but pronounced in the same way.
ANSWERe: Here are the some other pairs of which spelt differently but
pronounced in the same way.

some sum son, sun

stair, stare stationary, stationery

steal, steel suite, sweet

tail, tale their, there

Q2. ‘θ’ and ‘ð’ are the confusing fricatives for English language learners. Transcribe the
following words by identifying the correct fricative phoneme in each word. Answer:
Sr. Words Transcription

1 breathe Amer. |breθ|

Brit. |brɛθ

2 healthy Amer. |ˈhelθi|

Brit. |ˈhɛlθi|

3 bathe Amer. |beɪð|

Brit. |beɪð|

4 clothe Amer. |kloʊð|

Brit. |kləʊð

5 teeth Amer. |tiːθ|

Brit. |tiːθ

6 loathe Amer. |loʊð| Brit. |ləʊð

7 smooth Amer. |smuːð|

Brit. |smuːð

8 earthy Amer. |ˈɜːrθi|

Brit. |ˈəːθi|
9 loath Amer. |loʊθ|
Brit. |ləʊθ|

10 wreath Amer. |riːθ|

Brit. |riːθ|